In this special episode, co-hosts Lynette Ezell and Tera Melber as they continue the conversation with Rebecca Davidson in part two of this series. Learn more about the first steps of becoming a foster parent and who the state deems a good fit from Rebecca, who has worked in the foster care system for over 20 years. You won’t want to miss the last part of this series!

For more, visit sendrelief.org/foster-care-adoption.

Additional resources:

https://vimeo.com/238990713

http://www.alabamachild.org/main/abch-update/the-how-and-why-a-familys-call-to-foster

http://www.connect127.org/_Conner.html

In the first episode of this two-part series, co-hosts Lynette Ezell and Tera Melber hear from special guest Rebecca Davidson on how the Church can support children in foster care and foster care families. From bringing lunch to social service workers in your area to attending a respite training or becoming a foster family, you and your church can become part of a vast network of people involved in foster care, keeping children safe in your community.

Learn more at sendrelief.org/foster-care-adoption.

Additional resources:

https://www.sendrelief.org/donate/foster-care-pods/

www.promise686.org

https://cafo.org/nfci/help-week/

While adoption is celebrated as a joyous moment for families, it is also a response to a tragedy or breakdown in a family’s life and/or community. Co-hosts Lynette Ezell and Tera Melber speak with Kimber Graves, who works for Orphan Care Alliance in Louisville, Kentucky, on grief and loss in adoption. Apply Kimber’s practical and sage advice to your life as you discover how Kimber watched and experienced grief with her two daughters when they were adopted from China.

To read more about grief and loss in adoption, check out the following resources below:

By Sherrie Eldridge

Edited by Jean MacLeod and Sheena Macrae

By Jayne Schooler

By Gregory Keck

To watch more about grief and loss in adoption, check out the following resources below:

To learn online about grief and loss in adoption, visit the following sites:

Did you know there are more than 24 million children in the United States living in single-parent families? Join co-hosts Lynette Ezell and Tera Melber as they dive into a conversation with Christi Haag about Brave Moms, a Florida Baptist Children’s Homes initiative. Discover how this program delivers help and hope to single moms working hard towards self-sufficiency as they provide for their children.

For additional resources, check out the links below:

Florida Baptist Homes for Children

https://www.fbchomes.org

New Start for Single Moms

By Diane Strack

https://www.amazon.com/Start-Single-Moms-Small-Group/dp/1418528536

Join cohosts Lynette Ezell and Tera Melber as they converse with Anna Palmer, executive director of Crossroads NOLA, about the work the organization is doing for foster kids and local foster families in New Orleans. Gain the latest insight into what Crossroads NOLA is doing in an effort to increase the number of suitable families available to care for local children.

Check out Crossroads NOLA at www.crossroadsnola.org.

For further resources, visit https://child.tcu.edu of Karyn Purvis Institute of Child Development.

Additional information can be found in this TED Talk with Nadine Burke Harris, https://www.ted.com/talks/nadine_burke_harris_how_childhood_trauma_affects_health_across_a_lifetime/up-next